Mount Sion weather the storm to oust Newtown

 NEWTOWNSHANDRUM 2-09
 MOUNT SION 3-07

Hard not to pity October hurlers. The champions of Cork and Waterford met on a dreadful day in Walsh Park yesterday and it was the home side, courtesy of a late Tony Browne goal, who live to march through grimmest winter.

Newtownshandrum, on their maiden provincial campaign, will revisit the closing minutes of this match many, many times and arrive at the conclusion that they ought to have salvaged a draw.

After Tony Browne, loitering around a crowded mess of a goalmouth, got timber to Eoin Kelly's dangerously floated ball to strike the decisive blow in the 53rd minute, Newtownshandrum quickly cut the deficit to two after a Ben O'Connor free.

In the last four minutes, however, Mike Morrissey blasted an admittedly acute scoring chance into a row of poplars and then O'Connor, on the money all afternoon, fired wide with a free chance. Conversions here would have earned the Cork champions at least another Sunday, which would not have been undeserved.

Mount Sion, after a rusty first 15 minutes during which they oozed negativity, gradually came to terms with the appalling day and the fact that their young opponents were up for it. With Ken McGrath increasingly influential and Brian Flannery in dominant form at wing back, they took an early lead in the 90 seconds following the halftime restart and never fell behind again.

Down 2-4 to 1-4 at the half, Ken McGrath opted to drill a shot low at the goal from 20 metres out. The Newtownshandrum defence was ready, but couldn't stop the effort. From the puck out, Eoin McGrath was held by Brendan Mulcahy, and Tony Browne drilled the free.

From then, the teams settled into a taut, absorbing search for daylight and served a quality of hurling that totally belied the foul, blustery conditions.

Pat Mulcahy was an omnipotent force at centre back for Cork, assured under dropping balls, fastidious when it came to sweeping loose ball and a solid bulwark down the middle. John McCarthy also had a fine game at corner back for the Cork men and Jerry O'Connor struck three fine points from play as well as taking a faltering cause to Mount Sion as the game ebbed.

Both teams aspired to hurl honestly despite the grease and driving rain. Ben O'Connor's wonderfully taken point, after a slick exchange between Bertie Troy and Donal Mulcahy, set Newtown's mood and they produced some fine scores.

It was Ben O'Connor who hit the first goal, haring on to a long dropping free and torching his shot beyond Paul Morrissey. A Jerry O'Connor point, after another web of neat passing, put the Cork side into a 1-4 to 0-1 lead after 17 minutes and at that early stage, their opponents had an unconvincing look.

Mount Sion, however, demonstrated lethal timing throughout this game. On 22 minutes, midfielder Eoin Kelly, a sensational prospect, took a pass from Browne and loped around the Newtownshandrum defence before blazing a shot past Paul Morrissey that wakened his side.

By the 27th minute, they had squared the game at 1-4 each. Newtownshandrum had the final say of the half, with Donal Mulcahy spinning out of trouble to lay a fine hand-pass which Ian Kelleher latched on to before casually netting but the impetus was with the Waterford men.

The mood grew ragged and flared a little as the afternoon worsened, mocking the players' efforts and at times making the game virtually ungovernable. The shame was that these two sides, luminous in skill more so than fibre, could not have met on reasonable ground and on a day without storm warnings.

No matter to Mount Sion, however, who are back in business after a long siesta following their county championship win. It was a tough conclusion to Newtownshandrum's memorable year and a game to remind them that, at this unforgiving time of year, chances come scarce.

MOUNT SION: P Flynn; G Harris, G Gater, K O'Connor; B Flannery, R McGrath, K O'Neill; E Kelly (1-1, point from free), P Fanning; E McGrath (0-1), A Kirwan, T Browne (1-5, points from frees); M O Regan, K McGrath (1-0, free), B Browne. Sub: D Acheson for A Kirwan.

NEWTOWNSHANDRUM: P Morrissey; J Griffin, B Mulchay, J McCarthy; D Murphy, P Mulcahy, P Noonan; I Kelleher (1-0), A O'Brien; M Morrissey (0-1), B Troy, J O'Connor (0-3), D Riordan, D Mulcahy , B O'Connor (1-5, 4 frees).

Referee: Séamus Roche.

Newtown go close

Newtown's great adventure was always going to end like this. A team spined with character were never going to slip away from the winter without offering up a dogfight and on a miserable day when even ducks might have drowned in Walsh Park, they held true to their reputation.

But being gallant losers will be of little consolation to Berni O' Connor's team, who have been nurtured on a staple diet of success.What will really nag at the North Cork men, is that this is a game that they could have easily have won and certainly should have drawn.

The wheels on their remarkable season finally came off seven minutes from the end yesterday in the simplest of fashion. Eoin Kelly, Mount Sion's powerhouse midfielder, popped a long range free into the Newtown square, and a moment's hesitancy between goalkeeper Paul Morrissey and fullback Brendan Mulcahy allowed Tony Browne flick the ball to the net.

It was a soft goal and a decisive one, leaving the home side three points clear, a lead cushioned by the buffeting wind at their backs. Yet, Newtown could have saved the day. Ben O' Connor knocked over a couple of frees to bring it back to within a point, but in between missed a scoreable effort, while Mike Morrissey also shot wide after rushing his effort from the right wing.

A draw was the least that Newtown deserved, not least for bouncing back from the blow of losing two key players from the team thet won the county final a week earlier. John Paul king, their dynamic wing forward, was struck down by tonsillitis whilst Declan Murphy was unavailable for selection.

Despite that double blow it was Newtown who made the brighter start and struck the first blow in the 13th minute when Paul Morrissey's long free left Ben O' Connor free inside the Sion defence and the Cork champions at that stage, particularly with former Waterford star Ger Harris being tortured by the pace of O' Connor whilst Pat Mulcahy pulled the strings out the field.

On a day when it must be said that Tipperary referee Seamus Roche harldy covered himself in glory, Mount Sion clawed their way back into the game in the most dubious of circumstances. Browne slipped the the excellent Kelly through in the 22nd minute but he appeared to over carry on the way to firing the ball to the back of the net.

It proved a vital score and although Newtown temporarily regained the intiative with a very cooly taken goal by Ian Kelliher on the stroke of half-time. Within 30 seconds of the restart, the sides were level when Ken McGrath, who failed to make the kind of impact that many had anticiapted blasted afree to the net.

In truth, Mount Sion had the better of things for most of the second half, with their half-back line, inspired by the excellent Brian Flannery, presenting a wall that the Newtown forwards rarely looked like breaching. The disappointment that will come with this defeat though is unlikely to linger for too long over the heads of Newtown.

Newtownshandrum give a taste of things to come with battling display against Mount Sion

ANY lingering doubts about Newtownshandrum’s arrival as a major hurling force will have been utterly dispelled after their magnificent challenge to Mount Sion in Sunday’s Munster club championship game at rain-lashed Walsh Park.
The bookmakers were quoting the Waterfordmen at the restrictive odds of 4/7, with a much more generous 6/4 available if you fancied the recently crowned Cork champions. But from the moment this titanic game got under way it was clear to all and sundry that it was “evens the field” with scarcely a puck of the ball separating the sides.
The great pity was that the conditions were as bad as they were. On a fine day and a firm underfoot sod it could have been a classic between rivals who rely exclusively on skill to carve out their victories.
But even on a pitch that quickly cut up under the incessant rain, both Mount Sion and Newtownshandrummanaged to defy logic with a game that was absorbing from first whistle to last.
When I spoke with Newtown’s genial manager, Bernie O’Connor, in the immediate aftermath of the game he was unable to conceal his disappointment. But the sense of pride he felt in his charges was also there for all the see.
”No words of mine could pay adequate tribute to every one of our players,” O’Connor said. ”Yes I am disappointed, but only about the result. The performance was something that has made me a very proud man,” he added.
The Newtown boss had a few words of criticism for Tipperary referee Seamas Roche, stating that he felt a few very crucial decisions had gone against them. ”Decisions from which Mount Sion reaped the maximum benefit,” O’Connor said.
However, he stressed that no excuses were being offered by Newtown, and he wanted Mount Sion to know that they wish them the very best of luck in their endeavours to go on and lift the provincial title.
Bernie O’Connor said that with a long hard season now finally at an end for the senior team their thoughts are turning to the U 21 hurling championship in which they are going for a fabulous three in a row of county titles.
And with twelve of last Sunday’s senior panel eligible in the grade, including his own twin sons Ben and Jerry, there won’t be too many in the rebel county that will bet against them completing the hat trick of title wins.
Meanwhile Mount Sion will resume training tomorrow night for the Munster semi final against the Kerry champions also at Walsh Park.
After seeing off the brave challenge of Newtown no one will bet against ’Sion qualifying for the final, but team manager Kevin Ryan is adamant the Kerrymen will command the same measure of respect they gave to the Cork champions.
”We have won absolutely nothing yet, and wouldn’t all our efforts against Newtownshandrum be worthless if we were to be beaten in the semi-final,” Ryan said. “Nothing,” he added, ”will be taken for granted in the semi-final, that’s an out and out promise.

www.newtownshandrum.com
© newtownshandrum.com 1998-2000
e-mail newtownshandrum@hotmail.com